NOTE 7 – STOCK OPTIONS

Stock Options Issued, Vested and Cancelled

During the three months ended March 31, 2024, the Company issued stock options under the 2023 Plan to employees, to purchase an aggregate of 104,433 shares of Common Stock with a strike price equal to $8.13 per share and a term of ten years. Of the stock options granted, stock options to purchase an aggregate of 37,433 shares of Common Stock were fully vested at issuance and the remaining stock options are subject to time-based vesting over a term ranging between one to three years. These stock options had a total fair value of approximately $657,000, as calculated using the Black-Scholes pricing model with the following assumptions: volatility of 88.41%, discount rate of 4.20%, expected term of 6.5 years, and an exercise price of $8.13.

During the three months ended March 31, 2024, stock options to purchase an aggregate of 42,767 shares of Common Stock, subject to time-based milestone vesting conditions, vested.

Stock-Based Compensation

For the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, total stock-based compensation expense related to the Company’s stock options was approximately $298,000 and $153,000, respectively. For the three months ended March 31, 2024, the Company recognized approximately $184,000 of stock-based compensation related to its stock options within general and administrative expense, and approximately $114,000 within research and development expense on the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. For the three months ended March 31, 2023, all stock-based compensation expense was recorded within general and administrative expense on the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.

The following table summarizes the activity related to the Company’s stock options for the three months ended March 31, 2024:

As of March 31, 2024, the remaining unamortized stock-based compensation expense related to the stock options was approximately $729,000.